Monday, September 29, 2014

Actor Sorab Wadia plays Sebastian in the Karin Coonrod/Elizabeth Swadow production of TEMPEST opening this week at The Ellen Stewart Theatre at La MaMa. Sorab took a break from rehearsals to answer our 6 Questions.1. What about TEMPEST speaks to an audience today?What speaks to me about The Tempest in general, and our production in particular, is Prospero's humanness, his struggle with acceptance and forgiveness. This man has been deeply wronged and spends twelve years of his life honing his craft, plotting and orchestrating his revenge, and yet when all is said and done [spoiler alert!] he accepts the flawed world in which he lives and chooses to forgive even those who have wronged him most terribly.
2. What other roles in Shakespeare’s canon would you like to play? I would love to sink my teeth into Iago (Othello), Lady M (Macbeth) and Malvolio (Twelfth Night) to name only three of many. I'm also in love with the sonnets and have committed over 30 to memory...so, only about 120 to go!
3. How is doing a play by Shakespeare different than a contemporary role?The deliciousness of the language, both how it feels in the mouth and how it resonates in the heart and mind.
4. Tell us about the last great book you read? Going to pass on telling you what the last great book I read was and deflect to plugging one of my favorite novels of all time: Vikram Seth's A Golden Gate. It is a novel set in California in the 1980s written entirely in sonnets, 590 of them...more if you factor in that the index, vote of thanks and the like are all in sonnet form as well . Seth uses iambic tetrameter rather than pentameter and sticks to this rhyme scheme throughout: ABAB CCDD EFFE GG. "While the idea of a novel in verse may be initially off-putting, readers of this tour de force are in for a treat," said a review in Publishers Weekly and I couldn't agree more heartily. The man is a genius.
5. Who or what has influenced your work as an actor? Certainly my work as a musician (pianist and singer) play a big role in how I approach text, form, structure and sonority, especially with a writer like Shakespeare. The teacher to whom I am indebted most is Maggie Flanigan. I am also very grateful to have friends and coaches like Charles Tuthill and Alberto Bonilla in my life who keep me truthful. And a shout-out to Andrew Wade whose workshop in Bombay way back in 1996 ignited my passion for Shakespeare and his language.
6. What does working at La MaMa mean to you? It means having a safe haven to experiment and create alongside some amazingly talented and wonderful artists. Thank you!

1. How did THE ELEPHANT IN EVERY ROOM I ENTER come about? In 2013, Gardiner [Comfort] hired me to direct a remounting of his first solo show, YOU'RE NOT TOUGH at Dixon Place.
I immediately loved working with him--he's a phenomenal performer,
generous collaborator, and he's got a brain full of beautiful, abstract,
chaotic creativity that works very differently than mine.YOU'RE NOT TOUGH is
a series of non-biographical monologues, in which Gardiner plays
characters he's observed in NYC, but (in the version we presented last
December) there was also a highly personal "Tourette's Dance," which
Gardiner created with his mother, Jane Comfort. For me, the "Tourette's
Dance" was a personal exploration that felt like a departure from the
rest of the piece and deserved to be developed more fully. When Gardiner
received a Mabou Mines residency
in January '15 and asked me to come onboard as his collaborator, I
suggested we use the time/resources to generate autobiographical
material for him to perform and he was totally game. When Gardiner went
to the National Tourette's Syndrome Association conference
in DC in April '14, we were actually working on the structural skeleton
of a different piece--but when he came back and started sharing with me
his experiences of that week, we very quickly recognized that his 'week
away at the conference' would be the framework for our piece. Our
experience with Mabou Mines was exceptionally positive and fruitful--and
we received extremely useful feedback from our showing in May. Within a
week, Nicky Paraiso contacted Gardiner about performing at La MaMa and
gave him the option to perform either YOU'RE NOT TOUGH or THE ELEPHANT IN EVERY ROOM I ENTER--we chose to keep developing the later. 2. What have you learned during the making of this show? I've
learned that that the reverence I've always had for playwrights was
totally spot on--I've never created a piece from scratch before and it's
just as crazy-making and isolating as I thought it would be. The way
we've created this piece is by me interviewing Gardiner-- first jotting
down stories/ideas on index cards, then storyboarding. We also record
our conversations, and our stellar associate, Nora Ives transcribes it
all. Then, I go through the transcriptions, cutting and pasting (and
altering Gardiner's words as little as possible), then handing him a a
text to read aloud and we edit together. Through my collaboration with
Gardiner, I've learned to function on a higher, more intimate level of
collaboration than I've ever worked on before--it requires a specific
brand of trust, patience, compassion and humor from both of us.3. What would you like audience to take away from the show? First
and foremost, I want the audience to take a way a bit of
awareness--this will totally sound trite, but I've found that even just a
tiny bit of understanding of someone's differentness can go a long way.
Yes, this pertains specifically to Tourette's Syndrome, and even more
specifically to Gardiner's individual experience living with Tourette's,
but I believe it's larger than that. In the piece, Gardiner very aptly
articulates how he analyzes and judges the appearance and actions of the
other people at the Tourette's conference--we all do this, all the
time. Maybe, after spending time with Gardiner, as he describes what
it's like to live with an neurological disorder, we'll all be a bit
kinder/more aware, less likely to stare/judge when we encounter someone
who appears to be differently-abled. Also, I hope that we dispel some of
the stereotypes about Tourette's and that people walk away
understanding that Gardiner's relationship to TS is extremely
complicated and that his brilliant, energetically electric, artistic
sensibilities are intricately connected to how his mind works. 4. What was the last good book you read? I took ten days away in Maine and decided it was apropos for me to read Elizabeth Stout's OLIVE KITTERIDGE (which
takes place in a Maine coastal town). I'd randomly picked it up in
Charlottesville, VA thrift shop the month before. I'm a total sucker for
fiction where the narrative point of view shifts from character to
character--and the more quotidian, the better. These connected short
stories really swept me up--I was simultaneously moved and
disturbed...the people in that small town (above all, the title
character), do some pretty amazing and pretty f-ed up things. I enjoyed
it a whole lot. 5. Who or what inspires you? Agh,
everything and everyone with whom I come into contact?! That little
girl I observed in the park this afternoon who I overheard lecturing her
dad about how she hates losing control on her scooter and he shouldn't
let go, the young woman who was so excited when I agreed to try her own
concoction at the bagel shop this morning, the music I'm listening to
right now, from our ELEPHANT sound designer, Elisheba Ittoop (I
wish I knew what this track is called, because I want to marry it). I
feel most inspired when I am exposed to the largest variety of
experience: taking in high and low (and everything in between) culture,
creating my own work, and having free time to be a real person. 6. What does working at La MaMa mean to you? Working
at La Mama means having the freedom and space to create what Gardiner
& I feel compelled to create, right now. We've been greeted by
nothing but support from Nicky, Mia, Bev, Amy, John and everyone at La
MaMa--it's like they've been saying, "We trust you--go make what you
need to make." And that feels awesome and rare and necessary. It's also
quite an honor for me--I remember first reading about La MaMa in
college--it's a wonderful feeling to be embraced by such a storied and
beloved institution.
La MaMa presentsTHE ELEPHANT IN EVERY ROOM I ENTERCreated by Gardiner Comfort & Kel HaneyPerformed by Gardiner ComfortDirected by Kel HaneyOctober 3, 2014 - October 19, 2014 Friday & Saturday at 10pm / Sunday at 6pm The Club @ La MaMa74 A East 4th Street(between Bowery and Second Avenue)New York, NY 10003

Tickets: $18 Adults/$13 Students/Seniors; Ten tickets priced at $10 are available in advance only on a first come first served basis. Not available day of show.

Friday, September 26, 2014

The legendary Spiderwoman Theater presents a staged reading of ONE VOICE written and performed by Gloria Miguel and directed by Muriel Miguel. The reading will be followed by a talkback and in the La MaMa tradition, admission is by donation.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

La MaMa Cantata has just returned from a
sold-out European tour, visiting Macedonia and Turkey.(All photos by Ana Lazarevska)

Nova Makedonija newspaper [23.09.2014]:

"Each of the 10 young actors brought a different aspect of the Ellen
Stewart’s character: her joy, her passion, her cheerful humor, her fight
against the racial discrimination, everything for the purpose of
creating a world of theater, which continues to be a lighthouse of the
artists throughout the world. That’s how, in the overcrowded hall of the
cinema “Frosina”, the present audience met the eternal spirit of Ellen
Stewart."

"The
young actors from New York, easily won the sympathies of the audience.
Their wonderful voices, the simplicity in their approach, the
unpretentious compositions, the recorded videos of Ellen Stewart, the
countless photos and historical facts of the theater La MaMa create a
musical performance that is based on the spirit of the theater, and yet
it reveals the fantastic qualities of
the young performers. It would be pretentious to say that this
performance is a spectacle – because it is one of the most subtle and
spiritual performances ever played on this stage."

"La MaMa and Ellen Stewart I’ve seen many times. In different
destinations. Always as a form of attraction which presents the power of
the theater to change the world… This time, in “Cantata” it is wrapped,
armed, sang and danced as a story that vividly, through words, photos
and music, and an excellent group of actors/singers takes us on a
trip inside our souls, in the past times as well as the times that
come. They bring out views that we recognize, with well-known characters
that on this or that way – triggered the need in Ellen to bring
changes."

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Last night the New York Innovative Theatre Awards were handed out at Baruch Performing Arts Center and La MaMa in association with Lone Wolf Tribe won in the category Outstanding Performance Art Production for The God Projekt. We congratulate Kevin Augustine, Edward Einhorn and all the artists involved with The God Projekt which performed as part of the 2013 La MaMa Puppet Series, curated by Denise Greber.

Monday, September 22, 2014

The 2014 - 2015 Season at La MaMa officially begins this week with new shows in The First Floor Theater and The Club!
First up is SELMA '65, Catherine Filloux’s one-woman, two character play. Actress Marietta Hedges plays both Viola Liuzzo, a white civil rights activist shot dead after the Selma Voting March, and Tommy Rowe, an informant for the FBI who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan.
SELMA '65 begins performances on Thursday, September 26th and runs through Sunday October 12th. There are numerous post show panel discussions and Q&As scheduled - CLICK HERE for a full list of events.

La MaMa presentsSELMA '65A New Play by Catherine FillouxStarring Marietta Hedges Director by Eleanor Holdridge September 26, 2014 - October 12, 2014 Thursday & Friday at 7:30pmSaturday at 2 & 7:30pmSunday at 2pm Tickets: $18 for Adults; $13 for students and seniors. A limited number of 10@$10 tickets are still available for some performances - in advance only.First Floor Theatre @ La MaMa74A East 4th Street(between Bowery and Second Avenue)New York, NY 10003For Tickets and Info: CLICK HERE

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Also this week at The Club @ La MaMa is DUOS! part of the Queer New York International Art Festival. This series features nightly pairings of Queer performers: DARKMATTER (Janani Balasubramanian & Alok Vaid‐Menon), Merrie Cherrie & Untitled Queen and SHOW SHOW SHOW (with Peter Cramer & Jack Waters).

Saturday, September 20, 2014

In conjunction with TEMPEST 3: The Tide Is Rising and the La MaMa Earth Season, we have launched the #mamaearth video project to spotlight how environmental and social justice issues are both local and global and how these issues are all interconnected. Beginning with the three companies involved with TEMPEST 3 from the US, Korea and Italy, we are inviting everyone to create 30 - 60 second videos that put a spotlight on local issues in their community and upload them to social media with the hashtag: #mamaearth. The first of the #mamaearth videos can be seen: HERE

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Actress Marietta Hedges plays both Viola Liuzzo, a white civil rights activist shot dead after the Selma Voting March, and Tommy Rowe, an informant for the FBI who infiltrated the Ku Klux Klan in Catherine Filloux’s one-woman play SELMA ‘65. Marietta answered our 6 Questions recently and here is what show had to say:1. What is the most challenging aspect of your roles in SELMA 65?Right now it’s memorizing the lines more than anything.2. Why is this topic relevant to audiences today?There
has been a big backlash against women’s rights, civil rights and voting
rights in particular. The voting rights act, which is what Viola Liuzzo
died for, had sections of it voted down last year by the Supreme Court.
These very important rights that many people died for are being
systematically rolled back. Politicians are consciously putting policies
in place which make it extremely difficult for
African-Americans, students and poor people to vote. These politicians
claim that there is enough voter fraud to justify these new laws however
numerous studies reveal that virtually no fraud exists. This deliberate
disenfranchisement of select group of people-people
who have a tendency to vote for so called democrats and liberals, is
reminiscent of what was done in the Jim Crow south.
3. When did you know you wanted a career in the arts?When I was 16 after I played the part of Sabina in Thornton Wilder’s
The Skin of our Teeth.4. What is the last good book your read?New York Trilogy by Paul Auster.5. Who or what inspires you?All
the people who went down to Selma to march and volunteer. People who
protested the war in Iraq and torture. Theater and theater artists.

6. What does working at La MaMa mean to you?I
first worked at La MaMa when I was in grad school at Columbia. I did a
few shows there and love the time I spent at the theater. It feels like
an
artistic home I’m returning to.

Tony Torn takes on the role of Stephano in the Karin Coonrod/Elizabeth Swados adaptation of TEMPEST opening at The Ellen Stewart Theatre on October 2nd. Tony took a break from rehearsals to answer our 6 Questions:1. What about TEMPEST speaks to an audience today?I think the message of reconciliation in the play is a challenging and potent message for us all in a world where we are constantly at each other's throats. And the magic dislocations of Prospero's island tell us to open our eyes to possibilities beyond what we think is real.2. What other roles in Shakespeare’s canon would you like to play?I have been patiently waiting my turn to play Falstaff ever since I saw The Merry Wives Of Windsor at age 10.3. How is doing a play by Shakespeare different than a contemporary role?It's not only that the language is poetic and rich…it's that it's so human! Each character is so deeply reveled in how they speak.4. Tell us about the last great book you read? Morrissey's Autobiography: a big, maddening, tempest of a book that swings from the eloquence to pettiness several times a page.5. Who or what has influenced your work as an actor?Being around my parents Rip Torn and Geraldine Page gave me incredible exposure to great acting, both from them and from the fascinating people they worked with. And working with brilliant experimental artists like Reza Abdoh and Richard Foreman during my formative years broadened my idea of what being an actor could be.6. What does working at La MaMa mean to you?The big room of the Ellen Stewart Theater at La Mama is a holy space for me. So many indelible experience seeing shows there, over decades: multiple works by Ping Chong and Meredith Monk, Andrei Serban and Liz Swados' Fragments Of A Greek Trilogy, Sam Shepard's Tooth Of Crime, and more recently Brecht's The Good Person Of Szechuan. Now, after appearing in both of the other La Mama theaters, it's my turn to play the Ellen Stewart. So thrilled to finally step out on that stage!

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Darkmatter returns as part of the Queer NY International Arts Festival @ La MaMa!Darkmatter (Janani Balasubramanian & Alok Vaid‐Menon)
is a trans, South Asian spoken‐word duo “hivemind flipping the scantron on your model minority narrative, returning that basic gayze, and spitting anti‐colonial futures.” They perform regularly at universities across the country and venues in New York City. Individually, they have done social justice work at local organizations such as the Queer Detainee Empowerment Project and the Audre Lorde Project. Balasubramanian is also a writer at Black Girl Dangerous (an online forum for QTPOC).

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Catherine Filloux is the author of SELMA '65, opening at La MaMa this month. Catherine took time out of rehearsals to answer 6 Questions:1. What inspired you to write about the Selma march of 1965?Marietta Hedges, the actress in SELMA '65, brought me the story. After I did extensive research, and after much contemplation, I became very excited about the idea of writing a one-woman show in which Marietta would play both the activist Viola Liuzzo and the FBI informant Tommy Rowe. Many people watched Bloody Sunday in 1965 on their televisions as Viola Liuzzo did, and were passionate about going to the Selma Voting March. The movie that was interrupted on their televsision sets on Bloody Sunday was JUSTICE AT NUREMBERG. A student of Marietta's, Carrie Klewin, whom I know through Theatre Without Borders, said to both of us: you two have to meet! Marietta and I are both activists. The past meets the present. We start rehearsals today. See you at SELMA '65.2. Why is this topic relevant to audiences today?The Supreme Court made a decision last year which gravely damaged the Voting Rights Act. It reminds me of Raphael Lemkin's Genocide Convention. Lemkin like Viola is dear to my heart. Such joy and hope are originally at the core of both of them. What does hope mean? How do we capture it? Well, you can re-capture it on stage, in the theater.3. When did you know you wanted to be a playwright?In high school my first role onstage was the Fortuneteller in Thornton Wilder's SKIN OF OUR TEETH. I was hooked. It's a heart, mind and body experience. I'm typing my answers to you right now on a keyboard--I wasn't an actress. I also took a typing class in high school. It was a "pre-class," a class before the usual classes started, so it was at around 7am. I graduated a year early from high school so I could get my French Baccalaureate in France. Yes, that was actually my idea. So I packed in the classes. I loved that typing class. The teacher was so good. She even taught us how to type to music. It was lovely, typing to music at dawn.4. What is the last good book your read?BENDING TOWARDS JUSTICE by Gary May. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg cited the book in her dissent.5. Who or what inspires you?La MaMa.6. What does working at La MaMa mean to you?That's a great segue. Home, family. Melissa and Kiku were ordering an ice cream cake for someone in the office yesterday. Today is her birthday. :-) I liked listening to their decision-making regarding the many flavors of ice cream they were choosing. One of their last concerned questions before they placed the order was: "Is that enough?"